my brain has been a bit scattered for a long time now. I feel like there are too many things vying for my attention and focus. things that I really like and also things I have absolutely no use for. below is my list.

too many emails/e-newsletters saved for later that I never readfix: unsubscribe. pick a few I really need and will definitely read and keep them. ONLY them. and stop subscribing to lists that just want to sell me stuff! I’ve realized most emails from retail companies (clothes, electronics, the latest weekly deal, etc.) are a waste of my time unless I’m truly in the market for a particular product. otherwise they just send me off on random consumerist goose chases. not to mention I have to take my very important time to open them, read them and then file or delete them. waste, waste, waste…

too many lists – on sticky notes, business cards, and notepad files, even on old papers and envelopes I have packed away in boxes that I keep thinking about from time to timefix: carry a Book or use my Evernote (get a smartphone to use this too!). write everything here. add the stuff from long ago if I really need it and throw it out, or just throw it out. get my shit organized!

too many to-dos in my headfix: add them to the above list and get them out of my head as soon as possible. if I forget them before I write them down they weren’t worth remembering anyway… at least I’ll tell myself that.

too many great things/events/ideas I don’t have time to pursuefix: write them down for later. reassess these things every few months, or whenever. ask myself Am I really still interested in this? Do I REALLY want to do/learn/research/read this?? if I’m organized enough I’ll be able to get to it if it’s something of true value to me.

too many bills to pay at too many different times during the monthfix: pick a day and pay them all, at least the ones that aren’t on autopay. this will save me some thinking. get bank accounts to the point where I have enough to do this each month. and combine debt where possible. one less annoyance to deal with each month.

too many things I don’t need (clutter!)fix: get rid of stuff. Goodwill, garbage, friends, recycle, freecycle, etc. just get rid of it and pack what’s left (for our future move). this goes back to the organizing thing. we hope to move in May which, you would think, should motivate me to get it together already. this will also serve to declutter my head. I know because I’ve done it before and it’s liberating!

too many minutes wasted on so many thingsfix: make my minutes count. turn the TV off! listen to my little voice more often. usually it’s telling me to finish my motivation course, or draw, or read, or meditate, or do anything more constructive. anything that gets me closer to having the life I really want.

too many fears holding me back or making me worryfix: stop it! ya, it’s not that easy I guess. but by doing all the things I should be doing with my time, the valuable, constructive, fulfilling things, I should have less time to worry and fear. I don’t have a clear solution to this one yet but that may change if I can get everything else organized.

too many things I really WANT to do for myself each day – but I either forget or run out of time or just plain don’t feel like doing themfix: don’t beat myself up. I’d like to meditate, eat the perfect diet, exercise, learn something new, get important things done, paint or draw, and many other little things that supposedly lead to a long, fulfilling, rewarding, happy life. But I can’t! at least not yet. for now, though, I’ll start with a list (another list!) of all these things and track progress by the week instead of the day. Get a little exercise, see how many days I can get in this week, and then the next. Maybe make a commitment to draw/paint at least three times a week. Same with the diet. If I can pack extra fruits and vegetables into each of my meals 4 days per week I’ll consider that an improvement…some days I’m just not into it. I intend for these things to be everyday habits at some point but this will have to do for now. yet another case for getting organized.

too many goals put off for laterfix: pick my favorites and make a damn plan! do something, however small, every day toward my goals. pick the most important ones and find a way to fit them in. my motivation course is helping me with this, currently. It’s been somewhat successful, hence this long-awaited blog post. my biggest , most important goal is to work for myself doing something I love, and to quit my J-O-B.

you’ve no doubt noticed that organization seems to be the theme here. and writing this post has me more motivated now to go home and get it together. because not only does organizing and decluttering get all my THINGS in order, it also tends to clear my mind. I’ve experienced this in small scale several times in my life so I know it works. it allows me to tackle more things on the goals list, conquer some of my fears, keep other areas of my life organized, and leap tall buildings in a single bound. really.

One Comment on “my Too Manys”

Hello! What a post 🙂 — sounds like you got a lot off your chest/off your mind – and methods to begin determining what matters most;therein is the beginning of clarity. You’ve got a good handle on things 🙂

For me, I’ve found some things I’ve put on my list to do “one day” – I don’t really want to do them! I just liked the “idea” of them (once I got a taste of doing them)…and some I’ve outgrown and are no longer meaningful. One example is wrting articles. I submitted one last week, waited ’til the last minute, it wasn’t my best, but it wasn’t my worst either. That process taught me, I don’t want to do that! I’d rather spend my time doing something else…without a deadline and without concern if someone else will like it! Ah… “freedom”..now that, I like .